The Visible - The Invisible - And Christmas

I begin this post with threads of thought that eventually leads to a pivotal event we celebrate known as Christmas.  The birth of Christ has impacted and influenced the world and its humanity that began nearly 2000 years ago.  I'd like to mesh Christmas and weave within, the dynamics we have of infrared and color, filter and illumination, the visible and the invisible.  As this occurs in our natural world, so it is spiritually.

There are complicated definitions of visible and invisible light.  Simply said, the visible light is an electromagnetic wave that the human eye can see.  It runs along a spectrum from short wavelengths of violet to longer wavelengths of red, which gives us color perceptible to our eyes.  There is another kind of light that we can't see.  This is infrared light and is a thousand times wider than that of visible light, but it is invisible to our eyes.

In photography, for an effect or artistic component, an infrared filter can be used either on the camera or in photo editing.  This filter blocks all visible light and can produce a dramatic look in transforming the subject matter in the exclusion of color to an infrared image.  The camera subject is illuminated  by infrared light and the every day scene becomes extraordinary in the absence of color.

Color -  visible light

Infrared - invisible light

 




Illumination!   A source of light that can brighten and make clear.  All of us have had an 'aha' moment when one has a sudden insight in awareness or comprehension in understanding.  It can also be called an 'epiphany', which is any moment of great and unexpected insight or intuitiveness.  Belief is also a component of illumination -  it is the Holy Spirit filter to see into the invisible that thrusts us beyond the visible color of  human knowing.  For some, the aha or epiphany moment can lead to belief; for others, belief can be the catalyst to revelation that occurs along the way in the walk of faith.

We are just a few days short from an event that changed the course of humanity - the birth of illuminating Light that came in human form - Jesus, the Son of God, the Light of the world.    We honor the mystery, significance and magic that Christmas brings and are humbled by the fact that God, the Father of Lights, so loved the world...

 You can also view at:   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb1AsyltkpA

from The Turn-Up Patch to each and all  ~

 Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas!

Until we meet again in the New Year on Monday, January 5.....

 

Advent Within The Alpha and Omega

Advent is here!  Now what exactly does that mean??  The word itself speaks of 'coming' - to spiritually prepare before the celebration of Christmas.  It is a season observed in many Christian churches four weeks before Christmas with the themes of Hope, Peace, Joy and Love symbolically displayed in an Advent wreath.  Many families create their own wreath in participation of Advent.  Four candles are set on a circular wreath representing these individual themes, each one being lit on that particular Advent Sunday.   Some churches include a fifth candle called the Christ Candle that is lit on Christmas Eve.  The lit candles remind us of Jesus, the Light shining forth into a dark world.

We can be caught in the flurry of activity in preparation of what the Christmas season brings in our homes, community, school and church celebrations.  Decisions of what gifts to buy, decorations to use, food to serve, cards to be sent - these are just a few of the considerations to be made for family, friends and beyond.  Often, travel arrangements need to be made as well as juggling employment situations.   It is a time to be a comfort for those in isolation, loneliness and in need, which amplifies during this time of year.  

Mary (as in the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10) set herself before the Lord, taking time out to enjoy His presence and then dear Martha, whose time was consumed in physical demands. Advent can be a time to slow us down and turn our eyes away from the busyness of the season in all the 'doings' to the benefit of being still before God. Advent is a season of spiritual preparation designed to bring our awareness back to the simplicity of the cradled Christ to the complexity of the Cross and to the completion in His return.  It is in recognition of the Christ, by His Spirit within us, expanding into the Alpha and the Omega.  One of the most fervent prayers of Jesus is in John 17:21..."I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one - as you are in me, Father, and I am in you.  And may they be in us so that the world will believe that you sent me."

The Alpha and Omega is complete - the Beginning and the End and holds within the dynamics of Advent....
          -  The Eternal in His Presence among us in the current moment of time through the Holy Spirit (who is).  
          -  The Eternal before creation and manifested in the Christ of yesterday when first coming to earth as a baby (who was).
          -  The Eternal in the future to anticipate, prepare and expect the coming Messiah at the end of the age with everlasting                 life (who is to come).

 

It's good to separate into the stillness of God and then take that stillness back into our noisy world. Withdrawing into that silence of God that Advent can provide, brings a sensitivity and awareness of the Almighty.  Rejuvenation of hope, peace, love and joy quickens and enriches the spirit and is a reminder of our destiny within the Alpha and Omega.

Until we meet again on Monday, December 22.....